Journals Unite to Promote a Truly Global Scholarly Culture

UNITAS, the oldest extant peer-reviewed international multidisciplinary journal in the Philippines published by the University of Santo Tomas, and Kritika Kultura, the leading internationally indexed and peer-reviewed journal of literary, language, and cultural studies of the Ateneo de Manila University, will co-sponsor the Asian Journals Network Conference on 29-30 August 2022 on Zoom and Facebook live.

Initiated by Prof. Maria Luisa Torres Reyes, UNITAS editor-in-chief, Kritika Kultura editor emerita, and scholar-in-residence at the University of Santo Tomas, the Asian Journals Network (AJN) is aimed at creating a "hub" for journals in literature and related disciplines based and published in Asia. This initiative, which aims to facilitate cooperation among international journals based and published in Asia in areas of journal publishing such as peer review assistance through a shared pool of reviewers, streamlined promotions, international representation in conferences and fora concerning knowledge production and dissemination, creation of an indexing body in the region, and more, is also led by award-winning poet and scholar, Vincenz Serrano, editor-in-chief of Kritika Kultura. To date, participating journals include:
• Akda: The Asian Journal of Literature, Culture, Performance, De La Salle University Manila (PH)
• Concentric: Literary and Cultural Studies, National Taiwan Normal University (TW)
• Dialektika, Universitas Kristen Indonesia (ID)
• Forum for World Literature Studies, Zhejiang University (CN)
• Frontiers of Narrative Studies, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
• Humanities Diliman: A Philippine Journal of Humanities, University of the Philippines Diliman (PH)
• Interdisciplinary Studies of Literature, Zhejiang University (CN)
• Journal of Language and Literature, Universitas Sanata Dharma (ID)
• Kinaadman, Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan (PH)
• Kritika Kultura, Ateneo de Manila University (PH)
• Kritike: An Online Journal of Philosophy, University of Santo Tomas (PH)
• Mobility Humanities, Konkuk University (KR)
• Pelikula: A Journal of Philippine Cinema, University of the Philippines Diliman (PH)
• Philippiniana Sacra, University of Santo Tomas (PH)
• Plaridel: A Philippine Journal of Communication, Media, and Society, University of the Philippines Diliman (PH)
• Poetika: Jurnal Ilmu Sastra, Universitas Gadjah Mada (ID)
• Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University (JP)
• The Wenshan Review of Literature and Culture, National Chengchi University (TW)
• UNITAS, University of Santo Tomas (PH)
• Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia, University of Indonesia (ID)

During the two-day conference, participants will talk about their respective journals—their history, niche, and various challenges that journals face like quality control, production costs, editorial protocols, marketing and linkages—and other pressing issues of Asian scholarship vis-a-vis Western-oriented global academic culture. The conference will be of interest to those seeking to know more about the prospects of academic publishing in Asia, particularly journal editors, established and early career researchers, cultural workers, university administrators, and students in the Humanities and related disciplines.

Interested editors and journals are most welcome in the Asian Journals Network; please reach out to the secretariat at ajnjournals18@gmail.com (cc: kk@ateneo.edu and editorunitas@gmail.com; subject heading: AJN Conference).